Ladle starter shape



L. A. HANNAH 1 3,393,482

LADLE STARTER SHAPE July 23, 1968 Filed Nov. 22, 1966 .9 Fig. 2 3

l/VVE N 7 0/1. LORI/V6 4. Ill/VIVA United States Patent 3,393,482 LADLE STARTER SHAPE Loring A. Hannah, South Wales, N.Y., assignor to Dresser Industries, Inc., Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 596,231 4 Claims. (Cl. 52-249) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to refractory starter shapes which are combined to form a bottom starter course in brick-lined ladles.

Brief summary In the manufacture of steel and steel alloys, it is conventional to tap molten metal from a furnace into a ladle in a pouring pit. The pouring pit is usually at a lower elevation than the floor on which the metallurgical furnaces reside, so that the molten metal may flow by gravity from the furnace to the ladle. Spaced from the ladle are a plurality of ingot molds, and the ladle of molten metal is moved through the pouring pit into a position above these ingot molds. Molten metal is poured from the ladle into the ingot molds to form ingots. Usually the metal is poured from the ladle through a nozzle which opens through the bottom thereof. However, the metal is often poured over the lip of the ladle.

Ladles are lined with refractory brick, usually fireclay or high alumina brick. Because the brick joints must not be penetrated by molten metal, prior art ladle brick were usually made from brick which tended to bloat; that is, which have a volume expansion (on heatup) as great as 20%. The bloating of prior art ladle brick enabled the construction of ladle linings without a great degree of care. With the advent of the newer steelmaking processes, however, the hot metal temperature exceeds the refractory limit of bloating fireclay brick. Therefore, it is necessary that more highly refractory fireclay and high alumina brick having only slight expension on heatup be used for lining ladles. As a result, new ladles lining construction techniques are required, which techniques require much greater precision.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved ladle lining construction containing highly refractory fireclay and high alumina brick by the use of specially shaped starter brick in at least the lowermost course of the lining.

It is another object of the invention to provide novel, specially shaped, refractory lining starter brick for use in metallurgical vessels.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following specification and claims and from the appended drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of refractory-lined ladle and in corporate the principles of the invention.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided an open topped metallurgical vessel of generally circular cross-sectional configuration. The vessel has a substantially flat bottom and upwardly-flaring side walls and is defined by an outer metal shell with a refractory brick lining along the bottom and side walls. At least the lowermost course of refractory brick in the sidewall lining is composed of the starter shapes of the present invention.

The shapes have substantially opposite end and side faces and inner and outer faces. The end faces of each shape are of such configuration that it can be mated endto-end with adjacent brick to form a circular course. The side faces are substantially fiat and taper toward the outer 3,393,482 Patented July 23, 1968 face. The shapes in the circular starter course are disposed so that the outer face is adjacent the metal shell and a side face is flush with the refractory bottom. The convergence of the upper side faces of brick in the starter course enables the laying of subsequent courses of standard refractory brick thereabove, with flush face-to-face contact, flaring upwardly along the side walls.

Description of drawings Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation in section of a lip-pouring ladle;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a ladle starter brick according to this invention; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-section through a ladle starter brick taken along lines 3--3 in FIG. 2.

Detailed description FIG. 1 best shows ladling linings according to this invention. The ladle has a flared outer metal shell 1 which contains a refractory brick lining 2. Metal is removed from the ladle by pouring over lip at 3. The side walls of the ladle are lined with a combination of arch and wedge brick, to provide for the curvature of the ladle. For a discussion and illustrations of standard wedge and arch shapes used throughout the refractories industry, see page 478 of Modern Refractory Practice, 4th Edition, published by Harbison-Walker Refractories Company. For a discussion of the selection of standard shapes to provide circular linings of various diameters and handy tables, see pages 536 through 558 of Modern Refractory Practice, 4th Edition (above noted); Starter shapes 5 of this present invention comprise the lowermost course of the refractory brick in the side wall lining.

The preferred brick shapes used in the starter course of ladles constructed according to the teachings of this invention are best understood by reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The starter brick shapes have end faces 7 and 8, inner face 9, and outer face 10. The starter shapes have side faces 11 and 12, The end faces are substantially opposite each other and converge towards the inner surface. They should have mating configurations such that a plurality of shapes can be placed end-to-end to form a circular starter course. The side faces 11 and 12 are flat and substantially opposite to each other. They converge toward the outer surface. According to a preferred embodiment of this invention, the inner and outer faces are curved and concentric. It is also preferred that the end faces be flat and taper towards the inner surface.

It is preferable that the radius of the curvature of the outer curved face of the starter shape is equal to the radius of the ladle to be lined at the starter course level.

The special starter shapes have another function. The brick linings at the bottom of ladles are usually keyed into place such that they will not fall out when the ladle is inverted to remove a skull (solidified metal). The edges of the bottom are held in place by the walls of the ladle. The special starter course comprised of special starter shapes, according to this invention, provides a snug fit between the bottom endwalls of the ladle. This fit reduces the tendency for brick to be pulled out when removing a skull.

It is preferable that the degree of taper between the side faces 11 and 12 be approximately the same as the degree of flare of the outer shell 1 of the ladle.

The use of specially-shaped starter brick according to the teachings of this invention provides a ladle lining having an increased uniformity, because it provides a solid base for the first and, therefore subsequent courses of arch and wedge brick.

Having thus described the invention in detail and with sufficient particularity as to enable those skilled in the art to practice it, what is desired to have protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. Ladle starter shapes comprising substantially opposite end faces, substantially opposite side faces, and an inner face substantially opposite an outer face, said side faces being substantially flat and converging towards the outer surface, said end faces converging towards the inner surface and having mating configurations such that a plurality of said shapes can be placed end-to-end to form a circular starter course.

2. Shapes according to claim 1 in which the inner and outer faces are curved and concentricv 3. Shapes according to claim 2 in which the end faces are flat and taper towards the center of curvature of the inner and outer faces.

4. In circular cross-sectional vessels having upwardly flaring side walls and a substantially flat bottom, said walls and bottom lined with a plurality refractory brick, a plurality of starter shapes forming the lowermost course of the side wall brick, said shapes comprising substantial- 1y opposite end faces, substantially opposite said faces, and an inner face substantially opposite an outer face, said end faces having mating configurations such that said shapes can be placed end-to-end to form a circular course, said side faces converging toward the outer face, the convergence of said side faces providing a cant enabling a precise join of said lowermost course of side wall brick and the adjacent bottom and wall brick.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 307,155 10/1884- Williams 5289 986,402 3/1911 Mills 52249 1,186,447 6/1916 Simmons 52197 1,970,209 8/1934 Weaton 52609 2,526,289 10/1950 Smith 52--249 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

20 JAMES L. RIDGILL, 111., Assistant Examiner. 

